An angler caught in the act filleting his illegal catch, and a large group ticketed for poaching more than a dozen striped bass are just some of the cases NYS Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) encountered in recent weeks.
The most surprising occurred on Sunday morning, May 10th, ECOs Brown, Dorrett, Heckler, and Hilton were using a robotic wild turkey decoy to catch people illegally road hunting in Williamstown, Oswego County, NY– it didn’t take long.
According to the ECOs, they observed a vehicle driving down the roadway slowly before turning around and coming to a stop near the location of the decoy.
They said the driver discharged a shotgun from the vehicle which was stopped in the middle of the roadway and then sped off when two ECOs emerged from the tree line and announced their presence.
Two other ECOs positioned nearby in their vehicles intercepted the man, who admitted to shooting at what he believed to be a real bird.
Additionally, the driver was operating the vehicle with a suspended license and is a convicted felon who is not legally allowed to possess a firearm.
The man was charged with possessing a loaded gun in a motor vehicle, discharging it from a highway, failure to comply with an ECO, illegal turkey hunting, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and criminal possession of a firearm.
DEC did not name the subject. The case is pending in Williamstown Court.
Oneida County Canada Geese Poaching
On May 26, ECO Hull responded to a business in the Town of Vienna for a report of a subject hunting geese out of season.
Officer Hull interviewed employees and determined one of the members had killed two adult Canada Geese and seven other juvenile geese at different times with a 12-guage shotgun.
The subject received tickets for the illegal take of wildlife, hunting waterfowl out of season, taking over the limit of waterfowl, using shotgun shells not permissible for waterfowl, and failure to possess a federal Harvest Information Program (HIP) number which is required in New York to harvest migratory birds.
All tickets are returnable to Vienna Town Court.
Illegal Fishing Tickets Issued Statewide
ECO Falkengren recently ticketed a pair of anglers for possessing striped bass outside the allowable size limit of 23-28 inches. The first subject, located in Stony Point, Rockland County, admitted to the offense after an interview. The second subject, located in the Town of Highlands, Orange County, was actively filleting a 36-inch striped bass when Officer Falkengren arrived at their residence to conduct an interview. The ECO confiscated the fish as evidence.
On May 2, ECOs Radomski and Rappold checked a group of anglers while patrolling popular fishing locations along the Hudson River in southern Dutchess County and discovered a plastic bag belonging to the group that contained a striped bass measuring 35 inches, exceeding the allowable slot size limit of 23-28 inches. The Officers confiscated the fish and issued multiple tickets to the group, returnable to the Town of Fishkill Court.
On May 4, ECOs Broughton and Maynard ticketed an angler below the Bay Ridge Promenade walking path in Brooklyn for catching and keeping a fluke (summer flounder) shorter than the allowable slot size. The angler denied catching anything until the Officers discovered a 16.5-inch fluke in a bag hidden between rocks. Fluke must be a minimum of 19 inches to keep. ECO Maynard released the fish back into the water and it swam off. Fluke season in New York runs from May 4 – August 1.
On May 15, ECOs Barbera and Noble issued 20 tickets to a group of anglers fishing off a secluded beach on Staten Island for keeping striped bass outside the allowable slot size in the New York Bight Region of 28 to 31 inches. The group possessed 14 fish ranging from 41 to 26.5 inches. Charges included taking oversized/undersized striped bass, taking over the limit of striped bass, and failing to possess a valid marine registry. Each angler with a valid New York State marine registry is allowed to keep one striped bass per day from April 15 to December 15. New York State Police assisted in this case.
On June 5, ECO Jankowski ticketed an angler in the Town of Livonia, Livingston County, for unlawfully netting and snagging Northern pike in Conesus Creek. Officer Jankowski observed the angler, carrying a net in one hand and a fishing pole in the other, herd fish into confined areas, unlawfully snag them, and place them into a garbage bag nearby. The subject took a total of six Northern pike, one more than the catch limit of five in New York State. The subject received multiple tickets for recreational fishing violations including taking fish by means other than angling and taking pike more than the daily limit, returnable to the Town of Livonia Court. The fish were confiscated as evidence.
Give all these creeps significant sentences and not just stupid little slaps on the wrist.
Not just fines and removal of hunting privileges, though these are good – ankle monitors, because even if they suspend their hunting licenses (if they even have them), garbage like this hunts illegally all the time.